Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean
"Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean" is the Christmas-themed episode of the Mr. Bean live-action television series. It was originally broadcast on in the United Kingdom on December 29, 1992. Plot Act 1: Christmas Shopping On Christmas Eve, Mr. Bean visits Harrods during a Christmas shopping spree, continuing his unusual brand of chaos while inside such a prestigious department store. After parking directly in front of the store and harassing a man dressed as Father Christmas by pulling his fake beard, Bean proceeds to do shopping for Christmas decorations. He tests out two Christmas ornaments and buys the one that bounces (although one simply smashes on the floor). He also tests some Christmas Lights using the same socket used for all of the exterior Christmas lights, plunging the store's outside into darkness in the process. Bean goes to the counter to pay for his items, when he notices a display and performs a rather inaccurate Nativity scene involving a Royal Guard parade, a Dalek, two army tanks, a Tyrannosaurus Rex, a helicopter and several other toys. Eventually, the store manager (Owen Brenman) puts a stop to his fun by introducing a small policeman into the set and gives Bean his bag of shopping. Bean then leaves content with his work while the store manager watches. Later in the town's Christmas market, Bean meets his girlfriend Irma Gobb. She takes him to a jewellery shop and points to the ring she wants in the window. However, Bean sees a picture of a couple sitting next to the ring and goes to buy it, thinking this is what she wants. He wins a free turkey by cheating, then upon seeing another man dressed as Santa Claus he pulls his beard again, only for the beard to be real, prompting Bean to make a quick exit while the man recovers. Bean then volunteers to collect money for a Salvation Army brass band performing in the market. He catches a young pickpocket stealing from people and forces him to give up all the items he has stolen, then he gives the loot to the conductor. Bean ends up conducting the band in a ridiculous way while the conductor tries on some of the jewellery that the pickpocket stole (implying that he isn't donating what he collects but he is greedily keeping it for himself). Afterwards, Bean wants to buy a Christmas tree, but he gets to the stand just as the last two trees are being purchased. He decides to chop down the town's very large Christmas tree and drives away with the tree strapped to the top of the car, while the many people around him are oblivious to the theft. Act 2: Christmas Eve When Bean gets home later that night, he sets up the stolen Christmas tree in his flat (it is also revealed that he has just cut the top part: when he is finished, he sends the rest of the tree crashing down onto the street below). Then he puts out three stockings: one for himself, one for Teddy and a tiny one for a mouse. He also finds a box of old Christmas crackers and stuffs all the fuses into one, creating a "super cracker." While having a glass of wine, he then tries to find something good to watch on TV, but finds only war films and horror shows. Shortly after, young carol singers arrive at his door singing "Away in a Manger." Bean sits down to listen to them while eating chocolates from a box, but after a while he gets drowsy. He walks to the door with the chocolate box but then rudely slams the door into their faces without giving them anything. Bean then goes to bed. Act 3: Christmas Day The next morning, Bean wakes up excited that it is Christmas morning. He then proceeds to check his stockings, and discovers that Teddy got two new glass eyes to replace his button eyes. The mouse has also received a piece of cheese - which Bean ironically places on a mousetrap. That afternoon, Bean goes into the kitchen to prepare the turkey that he won, but he loses his watch while stuffing it. He then pokes his head inside the turkey to try to find it and it becomes stuck on his head just as Irma arrives at the door. He tries to prevent Irma from seeing his predicament, but ends up scaring her when he takes a crosscut saw to try and remove the turkey. Eventually, Irma helps Bean by attaching a coat scuttle to the turkey and throwing the scuttle out the window. Unfortunately, the turkey is lost but Bean fortunately gets his watch back. Later, they have dinner (cranberry sauce sandwiches and carrot slices) and Irma gives Bean his present. She demands a kiss, only for Bean to outsmart her and cruelly snatch it away. Bean opens it to find a modelling ship and marvels at all the guns and in the plastic frames. Bean then remembers to give Irma her present, but Irma's excitement quickly turns to disappointment when she finds out that instead of the ring she wanted, Bean bought her the picture of the engaged couple that was used as part of the ring's display. As Bean continues happily playing with his ship, Irma sits on Bean's bed and starts to cry. Bean goes over to console her, but then realises "I forgot the main bit!" He then produces a small present from his coat pocket, which Irma opens to reveal a ring box. Overjoyed thinking that this is the real present, Irma happily hugs Bean and eagerly opens the box to find what appears to be a sparkly ring inside. Unfortunately, upon taking it out of the box, she finds that it's actually a screw-in hook meant for hanging the picture. As Bean shows her how to put it on the wall, a very angry Irma storms out of the flat, slamming the door behind. Bean is puzzled at this, looking at the picture and wondering "What was wrong with it?" before he sadly picks up his "super cracker" he made earlier and says Merry Christmas. The episode ends with an outside view of Bean's window as he pulls the cracker, which produces a loud bang and a bright flash that can be seen through the curtains. Deleted scene The original broadcast of this episode featured a scene showing how Bean won the turkey he eventually gets stuck on his head. He partakes in a contest to win the turkey by guessing how much it weighs and sneaks a set of bathroom scales onto the counter. After weighing himself with the turkey, he subtracts his own weight and submits the correct answer. Bean wins the turkey and goes to put it in the boot of his car, while the next person in the contest trips on the scales he left behind. This scene is cut in the A&E DVD release for unknown reasons. Broadcast history and availability The episode was first broadcast on British television in 1992, where its ratings were close to 18.48 million viewers. The episode has since been released on VHS and DVD, it has also been released within a series box set. The episode can also been bought as part of a Mr. Bean DVD package called Three Beantastic Adventures, which also contained Bean: The Ultimate Disaster Movie and Mr. Bean's Holiday. Merry Christmas, Mr. Bean is also available to stream for free on the official Mr. Bean YouTube channel. Cast Category:Specials Category:Originally aired on ITV Category:1992 releases Category:British Christmas Specials